Devices are known for scanning images to produce signals employable to drive a raster scan device. One such system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,632,871 which issued Jan. 4, 1972, to Robert A. Watkins, et al., and is entitled "Optical Scanning Device." Systems such as the Watkin's device employ focusing lenses to provide focused images within the scanning device. The focusing lenses require precise location and relationship between the various optical lenses in order to accurately reproduce the image being scanned. In addition, the focusing lenses employed in systems such as Watkins, et al., introduce known aberrations because of the use thereof.
Another example of an optical scanner employing focusing lenses is U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,759, which issued Apr. 9, 1974, to Jens Karl-Olof Andersson and is entitled "Device for Optical-Mechanical Scanning of Images by Means of Corner Reflectors." This system suffers from the same disadvantages discussed with respect to the Watkins device.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a new and useful scanning system.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a new and useful scanning system which does not introduce errors normally associated with focusing systems.